mac_tlc

Well welcome to Labadee. — a hot hot Labadee. Ah, the relentless sun and the smell of burning in the mountains ! People started getting off at 7:40am. Bless their souls! We will not be getting off today, the length of that pier, lack of shade, and bringing the wheelchair have me longing for AC —- and a bit of pool time with few others. mac_tlc

FWIW, I saw only two tractor trailer trucks and no refueling barge while we were in PC. May not be the same every trip. Last September when we did this trip someone asked the captain at the Q&A why we aren’t in PC longer and he indicated that they can’t get here faster ( long run and fighting the current all the way) and it would need to be a day longer itinerary. Then they could go slower and get to PC in the AM. mac_tlc

Here is the show schedule, but it will be a bit different with the 7 day itinerary.

I agree, but I don’t think they care about a balance that pleases every guest. Under the old system, if someone wanted once a day, all they had to do was ask and they would get it. And others would get their 2x a day. Now, those who want once a day still get it and the others get the once a day too. Our stateroom attendant on Oasis now has 25 rooms. They used to have 12-13 or so. 24 once-days are more work than 12 twice-days. The premise is simple. Royal cares about needing less people. Period. We will strongly mention it in the survey and it will fall on deaf ears. And the Frosted Flakes that my grandson accidently spilled in his cabin yesterday around noon will stay on the floor until this morning.😂. mac_tlc

So , let me introduce you to the star of the cruise so far: Nothing like moving air! DW asked the stateroom attendant on day one and Voila!!!!! mac_tlc

My wife and I are D+ On Jewel last month we booked the BOGO for night 2 and 12, just had to pay for both on night 2. Both slips showed two cover charges and one discounted. On Oasis now, and booked BOGO for nights 5 and 8 and did not have to pay for either ahead of time . Last night was night 5 and the slip at Giovanni’s showed a charge for only one. mac_tlc

Valid comparison if they kept the service level the same too. That is not the case. mac_tlc

Far fewer got off in Port Canaveral than Nassau. The ship certainly did not feel empty, but in Nassau you can feel the difference. You will love the Oasis Lagoon cabana. Since the pool is our main destination at Coco Cay, we like that it is so close. Great attendants to bring food, drinks. And as you say, a landing place for everyone. mac_tlc

No Beach Club for us.. too pricey . In fact almost all of the ads-one are too expensive for us. We have done an Oasis Lagoon cabana in the past since we had 8 but once those prices reach 4 digits, I’m out. Crazy hot today. In fact the lagoon pool was warm and not refreshing— but that didn’t stop us from staying a few hours. Indy was our partner today. We were both scheduled to leave at 5, we left a few minutes before them. Sea day tomorrow then Labadee as we enjoy our “bonus days” to the usual 7 day itinerary. mac_tlc

Best Aqua show at sea last night - Aqua80! it was a tad warm and humid ….. Early start tomorrow at CoCoCay. Probably also an early return — gonna be another hot one and Independence joins us . Lots of people. mac_tlc

Welcome to Nassau! A few of our group are getting off but I am not one of them. We have been watching the pier construction for a couple years now, looks like it’s about done. Glad they have covered areas for the half mile walk to town. And a nice area for the excursions to leave from:

We do enjoy breakfast at JR’s. So far out breakfast routine has been: coffee and pastry from room service at 8, followed by brunch in the MDR around 10. Too bad there are no more scheduled brunches in the MDR, only at Solarium Bistro. Especially on sea days, the 9:30 cutoff for breakfast in the MDR is too early. Solarium Bistro lunch is until 1:30pm, so that will do. mac_tlc

The first Aqua80 show was tonight. The standby line went all the way past the carousel. They started lining up at about 7:30 for the 8:25 show. I think they all got in. mac_tlc

Looks like the launch has been delayed to at least 10:41pm. We are on our way and I’ll see it on the TV tomorrow😜. mac_tlc

We are happy with the MDR thus far. It has been served at the correct temperature and all of our group of 6 adults have been pleased. We have especially enjoyed the nightly curry dish. We have not set foot in the Windjammer and the plan is to not. We really dislike the number of people and the endless searching for a table, especially if I am pushing my DW in the wheelchair. There are enough other options without it. mac_ tlc

From the app:

We have early seating and the stated time in the compass and on the app is 5:00 - 5:15. mac_tlc

After this cruise, Oasis will be here on Tuesday and will dock at terminal 1, where Wonder is today. We have gotten off and gone to Grills. Good food, nice view. We have a house in Orlando and often wander to Jetty Park to watch the ships leave. Here was Oasis coming in a few weeks ago:

We docked at terminal 3, where the Carnival Mardi Gras berths and we docked nose in so we did not have to go past Wonder. We will turn around when we leave. At least Wonder will go right by our cabin when she leaves since we are on starboard side. Supposedly a SpaceX launch tonight at 9 which is when we are supposed to leave. It will be right outside our window if it happens on time. Some pix coming in:

No, that’s just the entertainment in those venues. There is country music in Portside BBQ, guitar player/singer in the pub, Latin music in Boleros and other places, someone usually playing in the Royal Promenade, DJ by the pool and others. Since they converted Jazz on 4 to a smoke free casino, the jazz quartet pops up in a bunch of places. No more cover bands, which is disappointing. Mac_tlc

Lazy day yesterday doing nothing in particular. Dinner in MDR was very good again, and the chef on Oasis has redeemed Royal, at least temporarily, by making a much better French Onion soup than we had on Jewel. Still not up to the 2018 Brilliance standard but things are trending in the right direction. As would be expected, pool deck was a zoo. Splash pad for smaller kids was fuller than I have even seen it. We did spend a bit of time in the smoke free casino. It’s small and even after dinner there were only maybe 10 people in it, and our group was five of them. The normal casino is just too smoky for us. I sure hope enough people visit it —- it would be great if it was overflowing, maybe then Royal will change things. Port Canaveral today , aka ship day. There is a SpaceX launch schedule for 9pm tonight, let’s hope it happens. We will have a great view! mac_tlc

Only the house band, no external cover bands like Phoenix, Aeromyth, etc. We saw Phoenix twice on Oasis last year and they were fabulous. mac_tlc

Here is the show schedule for the week. Quite disappointed that Royal has apparently discontinued cover bands in the Music Hall. Offerings there are pretty weak. Also, a couple of the headliners are scheduled for two days instead of one since we have two extra days to fill compared to the typical 7 night itinerary. Overall, not very exciting. May have to try and see Aqua80 three times. mac_tlc

Sorry @Cthy651 and @sadiwest for your medical issues and missing this cruise. Hopefully everyone will be OK and a future cruise is already in the works! Top tier stats : Number of Golds is 1,547! Almost half the ship is returning cruisers. There are some unique views on Oasis class: We skipped the cheers with an officer and instead did brunch in the MDR. We enjoy the timing of brunch —- don’t have too rich to get out of the cabin for breakfast and can still have eggs and carrot cake at noon 😜😜. mac_tlc

Good morning from off the coast of North Carolina! As always, Day 1 is a bit hectic. Always seems like there are more people on board on Day 1. Dinner in MDR was surprisingly good. The issue on Jewel in June was as much food temperature as anything else. Last night, everything was at the correct temperature. All of us enjoyed dinner. I had forgotten how loud the MDR can be 😳😳. We are in no hurry to rush through and once a few tables left you could actually hear the person next to you. Already I like our assistant waiter, Jayson! He kept the two grandkids well stocked in chocolate milk, which makes everyone’s meal more enjoyable 😂. After dinner we made a small contribution in the casino but the smoke smell, even on the non smoking side was just too much. We like the casino bar but it is too close to the smoke. A fair number of non gambling smokers too, unfortunately. Headed up to the Royal Promenade to people watch a bit. There were getting ready for the midnight balloon drop. This is as close to those balloons as I got! Top Tier event today at 10, cheers with an officer at 11:45. Plan is to do both, but we shall see. A little cloudy today which is good if you are out in the Aquatheatre uncovered. More later…. mac_tlc